'When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras' - the old adage is well-known to GPs but what should you do when faced with a zebra, not a horse? Consultant cardiologist Professor Robert Tulloh and GP Dr Louise Tulloh kick off our new series with their advice on how to catch Kawasaki disease in general practice.

GP trainees earn income reprieve

GP trainees in Northern Ireland will now receive their full supplementary income of 50% after a threat to limit their entitlement to 20% was overturned.

The Northern Ireland Medical & Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA) recently announced that ST2 trainees in Northern Ireland would be employed on only a 20% supplement, despite colleagues in the rest of the UK being entitled to 50%.

But after the BMA intervened, advising that it would be urging GP trainees to challenge the decision on the basis of discrimination, the NIMDTA have confirmed that trainees in Northern Ireland will now be paid the full 50% supplement.

The BMA estimated that during the six months of the trainees' placements, the loss of income would have been between £4,346 and £6,834, depending on the level of the GP trainee's basic salary.

It said that the GP trainee basic salary currently ranges from just under £29,000 to £45,000.

Dr Brian Dunn, chairman of Northern Ireland GPC said: ‘We are very pleased this has been resolved. A situation where trainees in different part of the UK receive different pay and terms and conditions would not only have been unfair on individual trainees, it would also have had wider, negative implications for GP training and recruitment.'